Interior Design and Features
of the new 2017 Skoda Kodiaq
Step inside the cabin of this luxurious SUV and you
are greeted with a familiar sight. The inside as well draws many of its lines
and designs from the present generation of Skodas. The Czech manufacturer has
achieved a subtle blend of earthy panels and extravagant materials on the
inside of the cabin to give this SUV a warm and wealthy feel. While there are
certain elements which have been borrowed from other Skoda models, the dash has
been given a very unique look. A fat block of wood seemingly runs across the
dash adding to the earthy feeling inside the cabin.
The seating inside is quite comfortable, the front
row driver and passenger seats are power adjusted, they also come with 3 position
memory storage functions. The second row seating is comfy as well with adequate
space and a roomy feeling thanks to large windows. The second row bench gets a
40:20:40 split, the backrest can be dropped and the bench can be slid back and
forth to access and make room for the third row. Skoda has not provided a one
touch tumble function for the third row access. Seating in the third row is not
too great. The bench sits low on the floor and under thigh support takes a hit.
But one can make more room in the third row by sliding the second row forward
to a maximum of 18cm.
Skoda has also catered to a spacious boot which fits
upto 270 litres of boot space, this can further be extended to 630 litres by
dropping the third row and even more so to 2005 litres by dropping the second
row. Skoda has also packed the Kodiaq with a host of nifty features. On offer
is an 8.0 inch touch enabled infotainment unit with Apple CarPlay and Android
Auto, panoramic sunroof, powered tailgate,10 colour ambient lighting, automatic
headlamps, rain sensing wipers, 12 speaker Canton music system, parking
sensors, rear view camera, park assist, driver fatigue alert sensor among other
features.
Engine and Performance of
the new 2017 Skoda Kodiaq
Powering the new Skoda Kodiaq is a work horse.
Coming in the form of a 2.0L, 4 cylinder, turbocharged diesel TDI engine, it churns
out 150 horses. The Kodiaq is quick to accelerate but you can definitely feel
the mammoth weight of this SUV being lugged around. The 2.0L TDI in the Kodiaq
also belts out 340Nm of torque on tarmac. The surge of power from the engine is
thrilling but the meat on the band lies in the mid range.
The 4 cylinder diesel has been married to a slick
7-speed automatic DSG transmission. The DSG is a smooth player as per repute
and does not disappoint no matter the circumstance. Also on offer are drive
modes - Sport, Individual, Eco, Normal and Snow. While not much difference can
be told in between the drive modes, Sport mode does make many faculties a
little more responsive.
The suspension setup on the Kodiaq has been tuned to
be a little soft. The SUV rides well over bad and broken roads soaking in most
bumps and undulations with ease. The braking setup is progressive and the
Kodiaq surprisingly handles its weight rather well. I found the steering
weighted exceptionally well and the Kodiaq drives quite like a sedan. The driver
also gets a good POV of the road and visibility all around is decent. The rear
parking camera, sensors and park assist do help out quite a bit on that front.
Verdict
The Kodiaq is more stylish than sporty! The feature
list is top notch and the performance is admirable to say the least. Coming
into the SUV category it does check some of the right boxes like seating
capacity and space but I doubt the Kodiaq would be put through any off-road
action anytime soon. Skoda is offering the Kodiaq in an AWD single option
automatic variant which I feel is the smartest decision they could have made.